When The Tables Turn
by You-Just-Might
Summary: Sequel to In The End. When Liz died, Cammie was devastated. Now she's married pregnant and has a whole new set of adventures ahead of her. What happens when the tables turn? (Also, consider this story officially disclaimed because I'm not Ally Carter and I don't own The Gallagher Girls.)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N Hey guys. Here is the sequel you asked for. So I started this a while ago and was going to do a totally different story but decided I might as well make it my sequel story. If you didn't read In The End, I suggest you do so otherwise some things will not make sense. if you did read it, welcome back, I missed you. Other than that, enjoy and please review with your responses (good or bad) so that I know if I should continue.**

**XOXO- You-Just-Might**

It's quiet, to quiet. I push my hand over to the other side of our bed and feel coldness. He left in the middle of the night again. I am going to have to have a word with the director of the CIA about these top secret, deep under cover, get up and go type missions. If I have to be on a forced leave of absence, then Zach can be too. For god's sake he is my husband and I'm carrying his child, the least he could do is say bye before leaving. Leaving in my final month of pregnancy. When I'm due in two weeks. When he still needs to put together a crib and buy a car seat. When I need help getting off the couch and can't see my feet. When I specifically asked the director if he'd just post-pone this mission for a few months because you know what? Small cells of assassins that have been killing politicians can wait until after my baby is born and can sleep for more than two hours at a time every night.

After a few tries, I get out of bed and walk to the bathroom to pee. I swear this kid is purposely lying right near my bladder in the hopes of ruining my life. I turn on the shower once I'm done and get in. After I've washed my hair, I wrap myself in a towel and go back to our room to throw on some sweats and one of Zach's old t-shirts which are the most comfortable thing I have found to wear at this point in my pregnancy. I then go into the kitchen to find my Aunt Abby making waffles.

"Uh… what are you doing here?" I ask.

"Zach called a 3:00 in the morning and asked me to come over and make you breakfast and tell you that he'll be back by Friday night. I told him I'd stay here until he gets back. He also said he was sorry he had to go but they got a good lead on those assassins and he had to take it." She pauses. "He also told me to tell you not to kill the director and that he loves you."

"I am going to kill the director right after I eat those waffles and change my clothes."

"That's what I told Zach. I also took the liberty of calling the director and warning him of your visit."

I grin. "You're the best Aunt Abby."

"I know Squirt." She nods to my stomach. "How's Junior doing?"

"The sooner he's out, the better," I answer with a laugh as I sit down at our kitchen table.

"Well, you've only got two weeks left, right?" Asks Abby as she throws some waffles onto a plate and sticks the plate in front of me with a whipped cream can beside it.

"Yeah," I say as I pile the whipped cream onto my waffles and take a bite. "Two weeks. If Zach gets held up in whatever country he's in, I will not only kill him, but I'll kill the director too. What day is it?" I ask swallowing the waffle in my mouth.

"Saturday Cam, he'll be back Friday."

"He better be or…"

"You'll kill the director, I know. Better yet so does the director."

I grin. "Yeah, well Zach is not missing the birth of our son. I won't let him even if I have to go all the way to god knows where and drag him back by the ear well I'm in labour."

Abby snorts. "Yeah, the nursing staff in the maternity ward will definitely allow that," she say, sarcasm dripping from her words.

"Aunt Abby, I am a highly trained agent of the CIA and I won't give birth without my husband."

She laughs out loud. "You sound like Townsend," she says, and then in a perfect British accent, "I'm an agent of her royal majesty's secret service. I don't do booby traps."

"Still," I say unsmiling.

"He'll be here Cammie. He said he'll be back by Friday and he will be. When has Zach ever broken a promise he made to you?"

"There's a first time for everything," I grumble.

"Eat your waffles."

* * *

I march into the headquarters of the CIA in black dress pants that feel too tight but look fine and a plain white maternity blouse that makes me feel fat. I sigh. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy I'm pregnant and happy that we'll have a little baby boy soon but really? I want him out of me. I have been off of work since I hit five months and couldn't do a proper roundhouse kick or back roll because my stomach kept getting in the way, I tried teaching at Gallagher for a bit but found out that I have no aptitude for teaching anything other than Covert Affairs and P&E, neither of which I could because one involves field work, however minimal, and the other… well with my big pregnant belly, I was worse than Liz had been at pretty much everything. Thinking of Liz sends a pang through me so I stop and instead think of how pissed I am at the director. I actually feel kind of bad for him since I am going to walk into his office with four months of pent up energy and a whole bucket load of hormonal rage all directed at him. What I'm not expecting is to be stopped outside his office by a hand that grabs my arm. I don't think, I twist the hand back at an awkward angle then tug, flipping a man over my head and then planting my knee on his chest.

"And they say I can't be out in the field," I say to a very flushed Agent Edward Townsend, moving my knee off his chest and moving to sit on the floor beside him.

"I can't see why," he says as he gets up, "you flipped me perfectly well. You American's blow pregnancy out of proportion. You have a child inside of you, not the bubonic plague."

"Good to see you to Townsend." I sigh for the second time since entering this building knowing I'm not going to be able to get up without assistance. "Can you help me up?" I ask him.

"And suddenly I understand why you're not in the field."

I glare at him and he grins as he helps me up. "Thanks," I mutter with as much dignity as I can. "Why are you here?"

"Top secret Cammie, can't have the whole world knowing."

"I'm not the whole world Townsend, just one person." I'd forgotten how infuriating he could be. I can't believe Aunt Abby's dating him. A thought dawns on me. "Where are you staying?"

"With your Aunt."

"But Aunt Abby is staying at my house."

"And I'm staying with her."

I groan. "If I tell you that you're not allowed to stay at my house, will you listen?"

"Not a chance."

"In that case, get out of my way."

* * *

"My day so far has sucked." I tell a very surprised looking director of the CIA. "I woke up this morning with a baby lying on my bladder and my husband gone again. I just ran into Townsend in the hall and found out that he has invited himself to stay at my house with my Aunt until god only knows and my husband won't be back until Friday and that's assuming he doesn't get held up in god know where. So, you are going to tell me where he is and then you are going to personally guarantee that he will be home by midnight on Friday. Do I make myself clear sir?"

"Yes but Cammie…"

"Don't you Cammie me. Where is my husband?"

He gulps. "Paris. Paris, France."

That stops me for a second. The last time we were there, Liz died and I held thirteen Circle leaders at gunpoint and killed two. In the years after that, the CIA rounded up the few remaining leaders and had them imprisoned with the rest. I finally find my voice. "He will be home by Friday?" I ask with an air of somebody who will be told that yes, your husband will be home by Friday.

"Yes Cammie, and if he isn't I will personally fly to Paris and have him back to you by the end of the day."

"Thank you." I say, then I turn around and sweep out of the room.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N Second chapter. Thank you to GallagherGurl4eva, cheeky-monkey-hehehe, collabkk and lilyroselilac123 for being my first 4 reviewers! Other than that, enjoy, favourite follow and please, please, please, review. **

I fume all the way home. I mean seriously? My husband is AWOL, my Aunt and her boyfriend who happens to be a particularly frustrating British spy with whom I have more than one issue with are staying at my house until my husband gets back from Paris, France and I'm due in two weeks and haven't worked in five months. Oh and did I mention that Zach didn't get grocery's before he left so now I have to get those too? We have been married for three years and in that time both of us have left the other for missions without an explanation or warning many times, but in the past three months it has happened five times. Five! I am extremely pregnant, extremely hormonal and all I want is my husband but he is in Paris. Two weeks ago it was Venice and the week before that was India. First of all why is he in Europe so much? They have their own marginally secret service; actually, they have multiple secret services. Second of all, I specifically asked the Director to keep Zach at home until I have the baby at the earliest and you'd think he'd have listened since I saved his life three times last year and he owes me. Third of all, it is August, I am very pregnant and it is hot out. I want Zach.

But I can't have Zach so instead I settle for a Vanilla Bean Frappuccino from Starbucks and a pretzel. I decide to go through the drive through because I don't feel like exerting myself and am in the middle of ordering when some whack job runs up to my open window with a gun.

"Give me your purse and anything else you've got that's valuable." He says.

I look in my review mirrors and see that nobody is in line behind me and then to the side to see the girl taking more order standing frozen like if she doesn't move, he won't see her. "Okay, just give me a sec." I tell him, and then to the girl at the window, "could I just get my Frappuccino please?"

"Hello? Purse and valuables, now." Say the very confused looking guy with the gun.

"Do you really want to do this?" I ask him.

He looks at my belly, than at my face. "You don't look like much of a threat to me, so yeah."

I sigh. "Your fault." Then I grab the barrel of his gun and twist it out of his hand well simultaneously grabbing his neck, twisting it to the side then pressing the gun against his head. "I am nine months pregnant, very hormonal and_ so_ not in the mood for this right now." I tell him angrily. Then I lean over and grab a pair of hand cuffs from my glove box, unbuckle my seat belt, open my door and slap them on his wrist. I then proceed to open the back door of my car and push him onto the seat. I take my drink from the very scared looking girl at the window and then take my pretzel from the counter. As I drive away I look at the guy in my backseat. "You're under arrest for attempted robbery at gun point and have the right to shut up and stay that way because I'm having a really bad day and you just pissed me off."

* * *

When I get home, Abby is on the couch watching TV. I drag the guy I took into custody into my living room.

"Who is that?" Abby asks, alarmed.

"No idea, we didn't really get around to introductions when he pointed a gun at me and asked for my purse and valuables."

Abby laughs and looks at the guy in handcuffs. "You sure pissed of the wrong woman."

"Could you take him to the police please, I was going to but I need to pee."

"On it," she answers. "Which station is Tina at?"

"The one beside the playground." I say, not being able to remember the street. After we graduated Gallagher, most of us went to work for the CIA, with the exception of Bex who went back to England and MI6. Tina decided to become a Police Officer which has really benefited me because I don't have to explain when I bring in some idiot I caught in the act.

"I know where that is," Abby says after a moment's hesitation. Then she gets up off the couch and takes John Doe's arm. "Go pee," she orders.

* * *

I decide to go up to Gallagher, then go grocery shopping. I wish I could just take a helicopter but I'm not supposed to fly so instead I take the one hour drive to Roseville. The whole way there the car feels silent without Zach's happy bantering. I miss him. When I finally get to Gallagher, I have to pee again and my back hurts. I want this baby out of me. Instead I look at the camera on one of the gates and wave. The gate swings open and I drive through, sinking back into my seat and finally feeling good for the first time all day. It's been about two weeks since I've been up here and I've missed my mom. Before I visit her though, I head to the P&E barn to work out for a bit. I can hear my Obstetrician grumbling in the back of my mind about over exertion and not listening to her when she told me I wasn't allowed to do anything that even slightly relates to field work or training. Well screw it. I want to train and work out so I will. There is a class of eleventh graders in the barn but I'm not paying attention to them. I'm paying attention to the tall black woman in cropped yoga pants and a pink sports bra with her curly black hair pulled back into a ponytail that swings over her shoulder as she demonstrates a flip on one of the students.

"Bex!" I shout. She abruptly turns around and her eyes widen when she sees me in my workout gear with my big belly. I haven't seen Bex since I got pregnant because she was deep uncover somewhere in Europe. She knew I was pregnant but I don't think she actually realized I was _pregnant. _

"Cammie!" Bex drops the kid she was in the process of flipping onto the floor and runs over to hug me. "How are you? What have you been doing? Where's Zach?"

"Slow down Bex." I tell her. Then I turn to the class she was in the middle of teaching. "Hi, I'm Agent Cameron Goode, code name Chameleon." I gesture to my stomach. "This is Junior Goode." That gets a few laughs out of the group. "So I am just going to work out for a bit and… Bex help her off the floor." I say, glaring at Bex and gesturing to the student she'd dropped who is in the process of straightening out her now broken leg. "Could I get two volunteers to help her to the hospital wing?" I ask looking pointedly at the group of teenagers in front of me. Two of them scurry forward and each take an arm, pull the girl on the floor up, and throw her arms around their shoulders. Then they help her hobble from the barn. I turn back to Bex. "How many bones have you broken since you got here?" I ask pointedly.

"Six," she shrugs.

"And how long ago did you get here?"

"Yesterday morning," she says sheepishly.

"Yesterday morning?"

"Yeah." I glare at her. "Well it's not my fault they suck," she says defensively. "No offense," she throws over her shoulder.

"Bex," I try to sound reasonable. "They don't suck; you just have a very unorthodox way of fighting and teaching. Speaking of teaching, why are you doing it?"

"The other P&E teacher's cover was blown and she is currently missing. The CIA thinks she has been captured and is being held but they're not sure."

I look around the barn at the shocked faces of the students. "Bex, was that common knowledge?"

She grins. "It is now."

I sigh. "Well that'll be across the school by dinner. Now go teach, then come and fight with me because I need a partner and I'll explain about Zach if you do."

"On it," she says, never being able to pass up the chance for gossip, even if it doesn't really count as such.

* * *

After we work out and Bex finishes her lesson, I drag her down to the new indoor gun range in sub level one. After I graduated, I spent months trying to get the CIA to give me permission to have on built, and after seven months of begging and threatening and convincing and arguing, I finally convinced them that it would benefit the students of The Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Woman to have a gun range within school grounds where, if they so wished, they could learn to use a gun safely and without the judgment that I was forced to endure when I learned how to shoot. I also wanted to make it clear to these young students that where learning how to use a gun and shoot accurately that they are only to be used in the absolute most life threatening circumstances, not to make life easier, not because you're pissed, only ever because without shooting, you will die. Even so, when I pick up that gun and start shooting I feel better than I have in a week. The warmth of the gun in my hand, the spinning targets, the holes in the center of the papers. I am in control, for the first time today, for the first time in five months, I am in control. The definition of being a spy is not being in control though, circumstances change and you have to change with them. People die, people go missing, but behind that all, you have choices, you are finding out information, profiling people, trying to figure out a way to stop something from happening or make something happen. Although you are not always directly in control, you have a certain degree of it in ways other people would never notice. When I feel sufficiently calm and in control again, I set the gun down and join Bex on a bench behind a wall of protective and soundproof glass to talk.

"Spill," she says, "where is Zach?"

"Paris, he left sometime last night even though I specifically asked the Director to keep Zach off of any missions until after the baby is born."

"Cammie, what is he doing in Paris?" Bex sounds scared. Bex never sounds scared.

"He's working undercover in a cell of assassins that have been killing politicians and sabotaging important political decisions about national security. Why?"

"Cammie, you said he left last night?"

"Yes, Bex what's wrong? The Director promised me he'd be home by Friday."

"Cammie, two days ago, that woman, the P&E teacher, she went missing in Paris. She was doing the same thing Zach is now."

I shoot up off the bench. "Get me in a helicopter. Now."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N Hi. So thank you to everyone who has reviewed, it makes my day to see those updates in my inbox telling me that so and so has posted a review to my story. With that in mind, please review and enjoy.**

**P.S.**

**Sorry but there won't be another update for at least a week because I will be up at my cottage:(**

Bex helps me up off the bench and through the halls as quickly as a nine month pregnant lady can go which, let me tell you, is pretty damn fast when it's important. After we finally get through the hallways full of students heading to the dining hall for dinner, occasionally slipping into a secret passage, we are stopped in our tracks by Mr. Solomon and my mother who are blocking the front door.

"Mom, move." I order, putting every ounce of authority and spyness I possess into my voice.

"Cam, I can't do that."

"Move," I say again.

"Cammie…" starts Mr. Solomon.

"Shut up," I say rounding on him, "just shut up!"

"Cammie." My mother's voice is cuts like a whip.

"Sorry," I say stiffly to Mr. Solomon, not feeling very sorry. For God's sake, my husband is in Paris on a mission that one agent has already gone missing from. I need to get to the CIA headquarters now. "Now move."

"No," mom says again.

A crowd is gathering so I decide to act like the mature adult that I am and clutch Bex's arm very firmly instead of punching my mother in the stomach then slamming my fist into her chin to knock her out. "Why?" I ask diplomatically.

"Why? Because you're worried about Zach and assuming I know you like I think I do you're going to go straight to the director's office and right now, having yourself placed under CIA custody isn't going help anything. Also, you said that Zach will be home by Friday and so before you freak out, why don't you just say hi to him then since the Director wouldn't tell you something like that unless he was sure."

"How do you know I said he'd be back Friday?" I ask. "I haven't talked to you yet."

"We bugged the gun range," Mr. Solomon answers before my mother has the chance.

"You what? We agreed that nobody would bug that room." I say, momentarily distracted.

"Yes and because we agreed it wouldn't be bugged, we bugged it. You have a habit of using unbugged spaces to hatch plans that end in somebody being in mortal peril." He says drily.

My mothers, taking my momentary distraction as giving in talks before I can come up with an adequate come back. "How about you stay for dinner darling?" My mother says.

"Fine," I answer realizing that I'll never get past her and Mr. Solomon pregnant as I am. On the way into the dining hall I glance at the sign that dictates what language we'll be speaking tonight. French. I almost laugh out loud at the irony… so is Zach. As we pass through the door I look at Bex. "Have a helicopter here in half an hour," I whisper in her ear.

* * *

Dinner is delicious. It's a pity I have to miss desert, especially because it's supposed to be crème brûlée, a personal favourite of mine. Oh well, I'd rather go yell at the Director. After twenty-five minutes, I stand up and excuse myself to use the washroom (which I actually have to do) and invite Bex to come with me. The second we are out of the hall, I lead her up to our old room and into the bathroom off of it.

"Is the helicopter here?" I ask her, trusting that this room isn't bugged because any student would check at least once a week.

"Yeah," she says, "Cammie are you sure?"

"I need to know Zach's okay," I answer. My hand drops to my stomach. "Our child isn't growing up without a father."

"Alright, but why are we in the bathroom."

"I need to pee." I shrug.

Bex sighs. "Hurry up," she says as she steps out of the room.

After I pee I lean against the sink, studying my face in the mirror. It looks like the face of any other average American 26 year old you might find across the USA except for my eyes. My eyes are those of a person who has seen too much, a person who can never forgot what she's seen but tries any ways. I have the eyes of a person who wakes screaming from nightmares that have been the same since high school. My eyes are the eyes of somebody who can shoot a gun and knows how to kill, who has killed. Mine are eyes that will never see the world like other people do, who will always look at people and catalogue every little aspect of their outfit, every detail on their shirt, everything they do in the brief time I see them in case they come back and try to kill me, in case somebody tries to kill them, because that's what spies do. My eyes aren't the eyes of your average spy though, my eyes are the eyes of a spy who by all rights should have died well she was in high school; and right now, my eyes are the eyes of a spy who needs her husband but knows that maybe she'll never get him. They are the eyes of a soon-to-be mother who doesn't want her son to grow up without a dad. They are the eyes of a scared teenager who's been through hell and just wants her boyfriend because he's the only one who makes it okay. They're the eyes of a scared young woman who's been through hell and just wants her husband because he's the only one who makes it okay. Banging on the door breaks me out of my thoughts and I wash my hands quickly before opening it to find a pacing Bex.

"Remember the last time we ran away from Gallagher?" I ask her, recalling how we had left on Macey's jet in the middle of the night for Rome where we kidnapped Preston and, in the process, saved his life.

"Yeah, it was great except for the fact that we almost died and you killed seven people."

"We always almost die and they would have killed me." I say defensively.

"Yeah, yeah. Just get us out of here. I miss Grant. I haven't been able to see him once since I got back and he is supposed to be at the CIA today. I've been gone for too long and when I got back, they didn't even give me a chance to see my husband, just told me that Gallagher had called MI6 and asked if I was available to teach and that Grant was going to be in the States anyways so I could see him once I got here."

I snort a laugh. "He marries you and convinces MI6 to let him join even though he isn't a British citizen and you haven't seen him yet even though you got here yesterday. Rebecca Baxter, I expected more from you." I say mockingly.

"Shut up and get us out of here." She returns with a glare.

And so I do, we walk down to my favourite passage way and even though I have a bit of trouble squeezing past the old tapestry on the wall with my pregnant belly, we finally make it outside and into a waiting helicopter.

The pilot turns to us once we're buckled in and glances at my stomach. "Bex," he whines, "you didn't say she was pregnant. I don't want her going into labour on my chopper."

"Hector, I told you she was pregnant at least twelve times on our mission."

"Oh, this is that Cammie." He sticks his hand out. "Hector. Pleasure to meet you, although I feel like I already have from the way she talks about you." He says, jerking his thumb towards Bex. "I was with Bex on her most recent mission. Nine months bunking with her gets on your nerves, let me tell you."

I grin. "I bunked with her from grade seven to twelve. How many times did she throw ice water on your face?"

"Twice," he grumbles as he takes off. I laugh.

* * *

When we finally land at the CIA headquarters, I have puked twice and am starting to wonder why I didn't just drive. It would have taken longer but I wouldn't be sitting with a bucket on my lap. Oh well, what's done is done. Bex helps me out of the helicopter and after we say good bye to Hector and watch as he takes off again, we both go inside headquarters.

"Go find Grant," I tell Bex when I see her looking around anxiously.

"Are you sure? I can come up to visit the Director with you." She offers.

"Bex, go find your husband."

"Alright, but I'm walking you to the Director's office first," she answers. Her general lack of stubbornness tells me how much she's missed him and I smile as she leaves me at the door to the Director's office and walks off towards the gym where Grant likes to practice. Then I remember that for all I know, I'll never see my husband again and my smile fades until the reflection of myself in the framed painting outside the Director's door shows a face so depressed and aged that it takes me a moment to realize it's me. I sigh and then brace myself for whatever is to come. Then I open the door.

* * *

"Cammie," says the Director, looking up from the seemingly endless pile of paper work on his desk. "Twice in one day, what a lucky man I am."

"What is Zach doing in Paris Director?" I ask, my voice as cold as ice.

"That's classified Cammie."

"Really… and why is that sir?"

"That's classified Cammie."

"Is it? Well would you like to hear my theory sir?"

"Not really Cammie. As you can see I am quite swamped with paper work right now."

"I don't care sir." I say. I can see Madame Dabney's disappointed face in the back of my mind but I really don't have time to feel sorry about my lack of manners at the moment. "You see sir; I think that Ava Grey, the P&E teacher at Gallagher, was sent on a mission to infiltrate a group of assassins that were killing politicians and messing up important deals between the United States of America and other countries around the world concerning national safety. I think that Ava Grey was told it would be a low risk mission, just recon, and that it wouldn't take more than a month. That all she had to do was wiggle her way into a middle rank and find out what she could. I think that it turned out to be more than just a simple recon mission, that the group of assassins turned out to be bigger, better organized and less willing to welcome outsiders than was anticipated. I think that she messed up and got caught." I pause and look at the Director for a minute. "How am I doing so far?" I ask him. He doesn't reply so I continue. "I think that two days ago when her superiors found out she'd been caught, they came directly to you and that together, you decided to send Zach, completely disregarding my earlier request to make sure he wasn't sent on any missions until I had given birth at the earliest." I take a breath than look at the Director once more. "How'd I do?"

The Director folds his hands together than places them on the desk in front of him. "Well enough I suppose," he answers," though you are missing one key point."

"Then enlighten me, because right now, my husband is in Paris trying to finish a mission that has already been compromised once and on top of that, I am going to assume that he is trying to free Ava Grey. I don't see how the missing piece to this puzzle could do anything but make my day brighter."

"Alright then, here is my version. As you said, Ava Grey was sent on a mission to infiltrate a group of assassins that were killing politicians and interfering with important deals between the United States of America and other countries around the world concerning national safety. It was a more dangerous mission than anticipated and her cover was blown. She was then taken captive and after that, we have minimal information about what happened to her. This is where my story differs from yours though Cammie, because Ava Grey was compromised a little over a month ago and when we received word of this, her superiors asked for Zach to be sent to take over her mission and retrieve her. I said no to that request because you were eight months pregnant. We sent Macey McHenry instead." My heart drops to my stomach because I know what is coming next but the Director seems oblivious and continues without pausing. "Macey's cover was blown two days ago, not Ava's. We had no other agents that we trusted or thought capable of doing the mission then Zach so we called him and requested that he take it. We gave him a choice and he said yes because of Macey. We haven't seen or heard from her for a week and when confirmation came that she had been compromised, we had no other choice. Cammie, I'm sorry," he finishes.

I ignore the Director as I leave his office and walk down the hall, trying to ignore the grief and worry I am feeling right now. It doesn't work so I punch the wall, leaving a hole in the drywall. It doesn't help.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N I am so very sorry that I didn't post earlier than this. You have my permission to hate me (that said I**'**ll be forever grateful if you don't). So I was thinking about you, my faithful readers, and decided that we should do this thing where we exchange the funny little things about ourselves. For example, I'm thirteen and just bought my first pair of skinny jeans tonight. I also really like banana smoothies. If you'd like to review something odd, funny or just interesting about yourself, your likes or anything else, feel free. Or don't, it doesn't really matter to me, it is just an idea. Well enjoy that chapter and as always follow, favourite, review, tell your friends or your pet elephant but most importantly, enjoy!**

I'm throwing clothes into a bag on my bed when Bex and Grant burst into my house.

"Cammie stop it." Bex yells from my bedroom door before crossing into the room and grabbing the bag from my bed.

"No," I answer grabbing my bag from her hand and zipping it up before crossing to the bedroom closet and moving Zach's clothes out of my way so that I can get to the hidden weapons safe behind it.

"What are you doing?" Grant asks, coming up beside Bex.

"Well Grant, I'm getting ready to go save my best friend, my boyfriend and Ava Grey from assassins who know, or will soon know, that they are CIA. In order to do that, I am going to need weapons," I say. Then I grab a shoulder holster from the closet and put it on, sliding a gun into it and putting a tailored suit jacket over it, ignoring the fact that my favourite holster doesn't fit correctly with my huge stomach. I sigh. Then attach a holster to my ankle and slide a small pistol into it. Then I put on a regular holster and slide my favourite hand gun into it.

"Cammie, you're nine months pregnant, you are not rushing off to save Zach, who for all we know is fine, and Macey, who for all we know is dead." Says Bex quietly.

"She not dead," I say equally as quietly.

"And we're not letting you get killed."

"Bex, you don't have a say in this."

"Yeah? Well you aren't doing a great job making decisions for yourself."

"Thanks for the opinion Bex, but I really don't care right now."

"That's great Cam, but guess what? You are so worried about Zach that you're ignoring the fact that you're nine months pregnant and due sometime next week. You cannot go all James Bond on their asses right now."

"I can and I will."

"Cammie. You are not just you right now. You are two people so grow up."

I deflate like a popped balloon, remembering suddenly that I am living for two, I am breathing for two and my actions will affect two. "Oh my god Bex," I cry, "Zach could die and Mace could be dead."

Suddenly Bex's arms are around me and I am crying into her shoulder. "Shh," she whispers into my hair. "Cammie, it'll be okay. The Director has sent a message to his contacts in France to pull Zach out."

"What if it's too late?" I whisper, scared to say it out loud. "What if they know?"

"Then we'll figure it out. After you have that baby," she adds as an afterthought.

As suddenly as it started I stop crying and straighten my back. "Do you two have somewhere to stay tonight?" I ask stepping away from Bex and taking off the weapons I just put in.

Bex looks at Grant who shrugs. "I've been crashing at a buddy's the last few nights, but the couch isn't big enough for two. We were thinking about going down to Gallagher and begging a double bed from your mother."

"After what Bex and I pulled today?" I grin. "Good luck. You two can stay here. Abby was asked by Zach to keep an eye on me until he got back and Townsend found out and invited himself. Two more won't make a difference." After some well-meant no's and we couldn't's from Bex and Grant, they shut up and let me lead them two one of our four bedrooms.

Grant runs outside to get their bags out of the car and Bex and I follow as far as the kitchen where I pull out some wine for Bex and make a banana smoothie for myself. It doesn't taste right and I make a face.

"What?" Says an amused looking Bex as she takes notice of my face.

"Zach usually makes these for me." I shrug. "It just doesn't taste right."

"He'll be back soon and then he can make as many as you want."

I nod but stay quiet because if he isn't, they'll never be right again. Nothing will ever be right again.

Bex must sense my thoughts because she jumps up, knocking over her wine glass. "You haven't showed me the baby's room!" She yells as if the thought just occurred to her, which knowing Bex, it probably did. When the life of her best friend is falling apart, it would be just like her to focus on a nursery.

I have to smile, it seems so normal, showing my best friend what will be my baby's bedroom, but it hadn't even crossed my mind. "Come on then," I say with a smile. I tug her up the stairs and down the hall into the baby blue nursery that Zach and I have spent the past nine months putting together. The only thing missing is the crib which is leaning up against the wall in a box.

"It's so cute," Bex squeals.

I look at the chair and changing table, the monkey shaped clock hanging on the wall, the area rug under the chair, the closet full of little baby clothes, the bottles and diapers, the baby wipes and formula for when I'm not home to nurse. I look at the blue baby blanket on the chair and the little baby shoes lined up on a shelf. The only thing missing is that damn crib and Zach. Still, I have to agree. "Pretty cute," I say.

Bex proceeds to walk over to the closet and after squealing over every piece of clothing hanging up in it, she flops down into the chair and fingers the blanket. "That baby is going to be one lucky kid," Bex murmurs.

I lean against the doorframe. "I just hope he has a father."

"He will. Cammie, you have to believe that he will."

I know she's right; I have to believe he will. "Of course he will," I say, forcing a smile. "He'll have a dad because Zach will come home to me. He'll be here."

"Of course he will."

* * *

By dinner I just want to go to bed but instead I pull a roast out of the oven and put it on a serving plate. Then I yell down the stairs at Grant and Aunt Abby who are sparring in the basement gym to tell them dinner is ready. I get Bex and Townsend, who have been complaining about the value of the euro in the living room, to set the table and then yell down the stairs again. I put a salad and the roast on the table then leave Townsend and Bex to put wine out because Grant and Abby still haven't come upstairs yet. I barge into the gym and immediately have to duck to avoid being hit in the face with a flying fist.

"Dinner is on the table." I say when it's finally safe to stand up again. "I called you twice already so hurry up," I add irritably.

"Yes mom." Both Grant and Abby mutter at the same time.

"Hurry," I say, climbing the stairs.

When everyone is finally at the table, Grant says Grace even though that isn't a regular occurrence at my table and then we all dig in. Conversation is easy and before I know it Abby and Bex are offering to do the dishes and Grant and Townsend are begging me to show them how to do a move that a French nun with an MIA CIA father taught me well I was on the run. I sigh and consent but it proves tricky as I can't demonstrate the move and after a while I give up and watch them practice flips and other moves on each other. By ten o-clock, everyone is getting tired and Abby and Bex have been done the dishes for about three hours. After Bex flips Grant on his back on last time and cuts off his air supply for a full thirty seconds before he finally taps out with a defeated glare, everybody goes to their respective rooms after saying goodnight. I can't help but cringing as Townsend follows Abby into her room.

* * *

I lie on my back in Zach's workout shorts and an old t-shirt of his and focus on the whirring of the ceiling fan, hoping that if I only pay attention to that one sound, I will finally fall asleep. No such luck, all I can think about is Zach. I sit up and turn the lamp on, then grab the book on my nightstand, quickly scanning the cover. Hacking and Computer Terrorism. I quickly put it back because it had been a Christmas gift from Liz the last Christmas before she died, the one where we came up with the plan to save Preston. I remember how she baked everyone cookies then flew around the world to personally deliver them, burning through her travel savings. Quickly, I force myself to stop remembering and wipe a tear off my cheek before it can fall any farther. Giving up on any chance of sleep for the moment, I move to Zach's side of the bed and pull our wedding album off of his night stand. Happy memories are all that are in here, and even though those memories of Liz would have been happy if she were still alive, they aren't anymore. Now they're just reminders of the fact that she died because I told her to be there, that it was my fault. Crap. Now I'm thinking about Liz again. I hurriedly open the album and let myself be sucked into the happy memory as I flip through the pages.

_Joe Solomon almost cries when he sees me waiting for him in the foyer of the church. He doesn't though because he's Joe Solomon and Joe Solomon doesn't cry. Joe is going to walk me down the aisle today in place of my father, and let's face it, in many ways; Joe has become a second father to me. Now he grins and offers me his arm. I take it with a grin of my own and then sigh as Macey turns around and looks at me._

_ "What?" I ask defensively. "You did my makeup and hair. If there's anything wrong with it, that's your fault."_

_ "Yeah Mace," Bex says with a grin, "you also planned this whole wedding so if you don't like something, you can't blame us."_

_ Macey glare at my maid of honour and then at me, "I was going to say you look perfect, not that something was wrong. Now that you mention it though, your veil is lopsided." She reaches out and fixes it then grins at me. "Perfect." Then she reaches out and pinches Bex's arm. "Go," she whisper screams, "that's your cue." _

_I didn't hear anything but I don't say so, only return Bex's smile then watch her push open the church doors and walk down the aisle. After counting to five, Macey looks at me and nods, then pushes open the doors herself and walks through them. I count to five just as she did then both Joe and I move forward. I push through the doors and almost burst out laughing because Mission Impossible is playing. My amusement must show on my face because both Macey and Bex break into ear to ear grins by their places at the altar. Zach sees my face too and grins as I walk toward him._

_ "I choose the song myself," he whispers in my ear when I reach his side._

_ "Yeah? Well knowing the two of us, it'll be mission impossible to make it through this wedding without some kind of threat to national security so at least we'll be prepared when it comes to music."_

_ "Nobody would dare interrupt the wedding of Cammie Morgan," he whispers back. "Even if they did, I know for a fact that you have two knives and three guns concealed under that dress right now."_

_ I grin. "Careful when you go for that garter, they're all loaded." _

_ He groans. "If my face gets blown off, just remember that we share health insurance so you'll suffer too."_

_ "I'll make sure the safety's on." I smile. "At least anybody who would dare interrupt our wedding will have their ass thoroughly kicked."_

_ "You bet. No national security threats, terrorist, assassins or even just thieves at this wedding, I'm off." Zach voice is sparkling with humor._

_ "Ahem." The Director coughs. "If you two would like me to marry you any time soon, you should probably stop whispering about weapons and national security threats." Our entirely non-civilian group of guest burst out laughing and my mother, who is sitting in the front row of the church next to Joe shakes her head._

_ "Sorry sir," Zach says. "We'll shut up now."_

_ "Yeah," I echo, "sorry sir."_

_ The Director grins. "Let's get this show on the road before you have to use those guns Cammie, you are right about the fact that you two don't have much luck when it comes to not having somebody try to kill you."_

_ "I know sir," I say with frustration. "We went to see a movie and ended up having a gun pointed in our face by some mugger. He wasn't even organized."_

_ Zach groans. "The movie wasn't even a good one." Everybody laughs again._

_ "Alright then," the Director laughs. "Zachary Goode and Cameron Anne Morgan, today you come before us to be joined as husband and wife. As spies, marriage, which is never simple, becomes difficult on levels you cannot imagine today. It is one of life's richest surprises when the accidental meeting of two life paths lead them to proceed together along the common path as husband and wife as yours have. It is this accidental meeting that brings us here today._

_ "Zachary Goode, do you take Cameron Anne Morgan to be your loftily wedded wife?"_

_ "I do," he says with a grin._

_ "Cameron Anne Morgan, do you take Zachary Goode to be your loftily wedded husband?"_

_ "I do," I say with a grin identical to Zach's._

_ "Then let us hear your vows, but first the rings." Zach and I both beam at each other and the Director calls for the rings. None are forthcoming. "Mr. Newman," the Director calls. "Mr. Newman!" Grants head jerks up. "Mr. Newman, if you would be so kind as to stop staring at Miss. Baxter and get your head out of the gutter, the rings would be appreciated." _

_ "Cammie," Zach says turning towards me, "from the day I met you, you've brought out the best in me. You are my other half and I can't express how much I love you. I can tell you though that whatever lies ahead, good or bad, we will face it together. However far away from each other, or if we are undercover in opposing positions, I will always remember my vows to you. That I will be faithful, I will love you and I will always be there for you." Zach slides my ring onto my finger. "Take this love as a sign of my love for you."_

_ "Zach," I say with a smile, "the first day I met you, I thought that you were the most insensitive, arrogant and attractive, idiot I had ever met. You came into my life a year after I had gotten into a lot of trouble with the CIA over my first boyfriend and I hated you for ruining my resolve not to think about another guy for the entire year. Instead I bugged the east wing of Gallagher with my friends. Before you left Gallagher that year, you kissed me in the middle of the front hall at my school and it pissed me off beyond belief. Soon after, you went undercover in Boston without telling me and then we met on a train that you jumped out of after almost blowing my cover and left me to deal with the wrath of Aunt Abby and my mother. You showed up and saved my life later the year though so it was all good. When I was hiding in England you showed up while I was skating and wished me happy New Year's. You have been there for me always and you never gave up on me. When I ran, you looked, when I came back broken, you sewed my broken pieces back together. I can only hope that I will be able to do the same for you in the years to come. Zach, I vow that I will always love you and that no matter what happens, I will make sure it happens at your side because I know only too well how hard it is to be alone." I slide Zach's ring onto his finger. "Take this ring as a sign of my love for you."_

_ We both look expectantly at the Director. "Zach," he says with a smile. "You may kiss your bride."_

_ Zach leans down and his lips close over mine and-_

I pull out of the memory with tears rolling down my face. I want Zach here, now. Today. I want to kiss him now. I might never get to again though. Well there goes my last chance of sleeping. I pad down the hall into the nursery and look at the crib against the wall. Well if I'm not going to sleep I might as well be useful. I grab Zach's toolbox from where it sits near the door and the awkwardly sit down on the floor. The baby kicks in protest.

"Calm down," I mummer. "This is for you."

I pull the box with the crib in it onto its side the pull it open. I look at the instructions and smile because it's pretty straightforward. After an hour, the crib is put together and I am sitting in the chair in the corner of the room staring at a picture of Zach and I. That's where they find me in the morning.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N Hey guys. So I don't know about you but for me, school starts on the 3rd this year. Yeah, that is in two days. For that reason you might not get a new chapter for a little longer than usual but I promise I'll have one up as soon as I can. Anyways, thank you for all your reviews and follows and favorites and keep them coming because they really motivate me to write, other than that, enjoy the longest chapter in this story so far.**

"Cammie," a female voice says. "Cammie! Cammie wake up!"

My eyes snap open. I'm still in the nursery and the picture of Zach and me is lying on the floor, the glass in the frame is cracked. I sigh. "I'm up." I mutter, "I'm up Bex."

"Come on, we have to get you dressed. The Director's in your living room."

My heart stops and I look at her, terrified. "Is…" Zach okay? I think, I can't finish the sentence out loud though.

"He's fine Cam," Bex grins. "He'll be fine but the Director needs to talk to you."

"He's fine?" I ask timidly.

"He's fine! You have to get dressed though."

"Help me up then. I'm also going to need help getting dressed if you want me to be downstairs in less the half an hour."

"Alright," Bex says. Then she pulls me to my feet and follows me to Zach and my room.

I cross to the closet and grab a pair of yoga pants from a shelf and a grey t-shirt from a hanger.

"Bex, can you grab me a pair of running shoes?" I call to where she sits on my bed.

"On it," she answers. "Where are they?"

"They should be at the foot of the bed beside Zach's."

"Got them," she calls.

I waddle out of my walk in closet now dressed and cross to the dresser to grab a pair of socks. After two attempts to pull them on I give up. "Bex," I say. "I can't get these on."

Bex laughs. "Give them here," she says, then pulls me over to the bed and forces me to sit down. "I can't believe you can't do this on your own." She says as she pulls the socks onto my feet.

"When you're so pregnant and can't bend over or see your feet, I'll remind you of that," I say with a grin.

Bex snorts as she pulls my running shoes onto my feet. "The day I can't bend over or see my feet is the day I will have that child out of me."

"You don't get that choice Bex. The baby comes when the baby wants to come."

"Not if I'm the one carry it." She grins. "Okay, you're ready. Is mommy going to need help getting down the stairs?" I glare at her and she grins.

* * *

I walk into my living room and see the Director sitting in an overstuffed leather arm chair talking to Townsend, Grant and Abby. I glance at the clock. It is eleven thirty in the morning. I sigh for the second time since I was woken up because I never get up this late. Ever. I can last for two days on only one hour of sleep. I can go a week with only five. I think of how much of my day I've wasted. Oh well, I used the night productively.

"Cammie," says the Director when he sees me. "How are you?"

"Well sir. I'm due next week and my husband is in Paris partaking in a mission that may be compromised. I'm great." My voice is drips with sarcasm.

The Director smiles, "Zach is on a plane Cammie. He's coming home. I was up all night organizing it and we got lucky. Zach was out running errands for his targets and we were able to pull him off the street. We put him on a plane about an hour ago and he'll be able to see you sometime tonight after he debriefs. His flight should be about eleven hours and thirty minutes."

I look at him, unbelieving. "He's coming home? He's safe?"

"Yes. He's on a commercial flight and left from the Charles de Gaulle airport. Cammie, he is safe."

"Thank you," I say with tears in my eyes. "Thank you."

"Cammie, I married the two of you. I'll be damned if I'm the reason you aren't together. Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to go home to the wife and try to catch a couple of hours of sleep before Zach gets back and I'm called in for the debrief." With that he stands up and lets himself out.

I turn to my friends. "He's safe." I say. Everybody grins at each other.

* * *

Knowing that Zach is safe is a huge weight lifting off my shoulders and in celebration of Zach's safe return, Bex and I decide to go shopping. Bex, who I let drive, pulls into a parking space beaming like a maniac because she only drove on the wrong side of the road twice and she hasn't been driving in America once she went on her last mission.

"Where are we going?" I ask as Bex drags me the mall.

"The food court, we're meeting Hector," she answers as if this should have been obvious.

"Hector? The guy you did that mission with? The one who flew us from Gallagher to Headquarters?"

"No the one who cuts my lawn every Saturday." She says sarcastically.

"You have a guy named Hector cut your lawn on Saturdays?" I ask innocently.

"No. I don't have a lawn which you'd know if you and Zach would come and visit Grant and me."

I grin. "So we're meeting the helicopter flying spy who you did a joint-mission with in the food court?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I invited him."

"Why?"

"I missed him."

"So?"

"So I spent nine months with the guy and wanted to meet his wife and daughter so I told him we'd be at the mall today and he should join us with his family."

I grin again. "You told him to meet us at a mall because you wanted to meet his family?"

"Yes."

"You do realize you could have just invited them over to my house, right?"

"Well yeah, but there is a really good sale on shoes that Grant told me about and I really want new shoes so I figured I'd just kill two birds with one stone."

Shoes make me think of Macey but I don't say anything because I don't want to ruin a perfectly fun afternoon, instead I laugh. "Shoes, your reason for meeting them at the mall is shoes?"

"Yes, shoes."

"You realize my feet and ankles are swollen and that I don't want to stand up most of the time, let alone wear the types of shoes you'll put on me? "

Yes. Also you're in luck if you don't want to stand." Bex says, pointing at a table in the food court. "There's Hector and he saved us two chairs."

I groan. "Fine but you're not making me buy shoes at this sale."

"We'll discuss it there," she answers with a smirk that reminds me of Zach. Then she pulls me over to Hector and his wife and daughter.

* * *

"Hi," Bex says with a grin, introducing us to Hectors family. "I'm Bex and this is my friend Cammie."

I nod and sit down. "Hi." I turn to Hector. "Sorry about barfing in your helicopter."

"S'okay," he says with burger in his mouth.

"I'm Lisa and this is our daughter Megan." Lisa says, gesturing to the little girl beside her coloring in a coloring book with crayons. "Say hi honey," Lisa says.

The girl looks up and eyes me and Bex who sits down. "Hi. I'm Megan and I'm seven," she says.

"Are you?" I ask with a smile. "You're a big girl Megan."

Megan grins. "I can even use the big girl swings all on my own." She looks at Bex. "My daddy says you fight good."

"Fight well," Hector corrects.

Bex smiles. "Did your daddy tell you how I jumped off a building without a parachute?"

"No, why would you do that?" Megan asks.

"Yeah," I echo. "Why would you do that? We talked about not doing things that could result in death unless it's absolutely necessary."

"It was," Bex says. "There was a clown chasing me."

"A clown?" I say as Hector and Megan laughs and Lisa looks on with a small half smile.

"Yes. If he'd been chasing you, you would have jumped off that building too. I landed in a bush anyway."

Lisa is laughing now too. "I jump off buildings when I'm being chased by people who are going to kill me or I'm spending my vacation running from my boyfriend's mother and she wants to torture me. Not when a clown is chasing me. Wait, how did a clown chase you somewhere you could jump off a building?"

"First of all, you killed Catherine and Zach is now your husband so that example is no longer valid. Second of all, I was doing surveillance on the top of a building during a parade and the clown saw me and chased me onto the roof where he started calling me a pervert and screaming that he'd have me arrested. His big red nose and painted face where too much for me and when he started chasing me around the roof of the building I was on I just panicked. You know I hate clowns."

"It was hilarious," Hector says once he's caught his breath. "I hear come guy screaming from the roof she's on and when I look up, there she is holding a huge bunch of helium balloons and falling from the roof."

"Balloons? You didn't have a parachute so you took the guys balloons and jumped?" I ask in disbelief.

"Well it worked didn't it? I'm not dead."

"No," I mutter. "Just crazy."

"You two are funny," Megan declares in between bursts of girlish giggles.

"Are we?" Bex and I ask at the same time, making her laugh harder.

When everybody's calmed down, Lisa looks at me with her warm brown eyes. "So Cammie, when are you due."

I smile and lay a protective hand on my stomach. "Next week but the doctor says it could be earlier."

"Do you know what it's going to be?" She asks.

I have the sudden urge to say, a baby, but I repress it and instead answer, "a boy."

"Well congratulations," Lisa tells me.

Hector glances at me. "Bex told me Zach is safe," he says with a grin.

"Yeah, the Director says he'll be home sometime tonight but then he'll have to debrief so I won't see him until late."

"That sucks," Lisa says. "If they'd kept Hector late when he got back from his mission with Bex, I might have had to go down there and get him myself I missed him so much."

"Well, Zach has only been gone for two days," I say, "so there isn't a lot of danger in me doing that, not that I'd be able to get passed everybody as pregnant as I am without using lethal force. I'd have been able to before I got pregnant but until this baby's out of me, I'm not breaking my husband out of headquarters when the Director needs him."

"Um… lethal force?" Lisa asks.

"Oh… yeah sorry. Not exactly table talk is it?"

"No, it really isn't."

"So," I ask her trying to take the topic away from lethal force. "What do you do?"

"I'm a stay at home mom." She must see the confusion on my face. "I've always been a civilian. What do you do?"

"Defeat bad guys and save the world." I grin at her look of confusion. "Same as your husband Lisa, I'm a spy."

"Probably a better one then I am though, if the stories I've heard are true." Hector says with a smile.

"Believe me, with the things that make me good at my job, I wish I was average."

"Yeah well if I had the clearance level you probably do, I'd never wish that."

"Oh really? What do think my clearance level is?"

"11," Hector guesses, Bex barks a laugh.

"17," I say with a grin. "How about you?"

Hector's eyes look like they're going to fall out of their sockets but he manages to answer. "Seven. It was just bumped up from five because of the mission Bex and I went on. How the hell did you get a clearance level of 17?"

"It's classified," I answer with a smirk that reminds me of Zach.

"The words that have ended many an interesting conversation," Bex says. "It was nice meeting you Lisa, you to Megan," she says to the little girl. She hugs Hector then helps me out of my chair and we set off to buy shoes. I'm dreading it.

* * *

After three painfully slow hours in the mall trying on shoes until Bex found a pair she liked and forced me to buy four pairs of ridiculously high heels that I will never wear in my life, I am finally back in my house. I decide to take a nap and after making sure Bex and Grant know that they can't spar outside the basement gym and that there is a spare key to the house in the hall closet and if they go out, they should take it with them so that they can get back in because our door automatically lock after three minutes. As I lay down on my side of the bed and try to get comfortable, I reflect on my panic yesterday when I'd found out that Zach might have gone into a mission where his cover would be compromised and that Macey's had been. It seems stupid now, that I would have freaked out so quickly and completely. Every mission there is a chance of being compromised. Every time one of us is sent away, there is a chance we won't come home. I guess that yesterday I was forced to think about just how dangerous our jobs really are and how close we can come to dying on any given day. With those overly depressing thoughts running through my head, I fall asleep.

When I wake up, it is to Grant shaking my arm.

"What?" I ask groggily.

"Townsend and Abby made dinner and then Abby told me to come wake you up."

"What time is it?"

"Just after six," he answers.

"Help me up," I order.

"You want me to help you get out of bed?"

"No Grant, I just said help me up because it seemed like it would be fun." He helps me up. "Do you know what supper is?" I ask on the way down the stairs.

"I think it is spaghetti and salad," Grant answers.

"Did Abby make it or Townsend?" I ask him.

"Abby did most of it I think, why?"

"She and my mom have the same level of cooking skills," I answer.

Grant, who has been forced to sit through one of my mom's home-cooked dinners groans. "We're screwed."

* * *

It turns out Abby only made the spaghetti and that Townsend made the salad. It also turns out that Abby forgot to stir the noodles so they cooked into a solid heap and are uneatable. Since salad isn't much of a meal for five people, we order Chinese food from a place that doesn't deliver but since nobody wants to go pick it up (it's raining) Bex gets on the phone and convinces whoever's on the other end that it would be in there best interests to bring the food to us. When the guy gets to my house, I answer the door and tip him quite generously after taking the bags of food out of his hands and paying our bill. We decide to ditch the dining room and instead sit on the living room floor and pull out Monopoly to while we eat. It is my recommendation that you don't play Monopoly against two very competitive British spies and two very competitive American spies, it makes the game last forever because, well, Monopoly always lasts a long time but also because when somebody (Bex) comes up with the bright idea to, instead of going to jail, having to draw a name out of a hat and fight whoever you get until one of you yields and gives the other five hundred dollar in Monopoly money, the game takes even loner. It is for this reason that at 11:30 at night when my front door opens and a very familiar voice calls "honey, I'm home," I am sitting on the floor surrounded by empty Chinese containers and listening to an argument between Abby and Grant over whether or not you can borrow money from other players. Everybody freezes and it is silent for a minute as we all listen for the voice I just heard to speak again.

"Cam? Baby? Where are you?"

Bex pops to her feet and without me even having to ask helps me up. I grin at her then take off in the direction of the voice we just heard. "Zach?" I call heading towards the front door.

He smirks at me when he sees me. "Hey baby, how're you and Junior doing?"

I ignore his question and throw my arms around his neck. Then I back up and punch him in the shoulder.

"Ow! What was that for?" He asks.

"Stop leaving in the middle of the night." I say. Then I hug him again.

"I missed you too Gallagher girl," Zach says into my hair. Then he kisses me and I know it's all fine. He's safe, I'm safe. He's here.

"You're here," I say, echoing my thought out loud.

Zach barks a laugh. "Of course I'm here, you didn't think I'd be able to stay away from you, did you?"

I grin and kiss him. "Of course I didn't," I say against his lips.

"Dude," Grant says, interrupting us. "Long time no see."

"It's been like six weeks since I saw you last Grant, I stayed the night at your place when my flight got cancelled because of that huge storm."

"Yeah well I haven't seen you in over nine months," Bex says pushing past Grant. "As I've told Cammie, you guys need to visit us more."

"Bex, you live across an ocean."

"And there are planes and boats and I miss you guys when I don't see you." I step back as Bex hugs Zach and then she steps back as Grant and Abby do the same and Townsend shakes his hand.

"Is there any food in the fridge baby?" Zach asks looking at me.

"No idea," I answer, "I haven't been cooked today."

"Like you ever cook," Zach mutters with an affectionate look.

"Hey, I cook!" I defend myself.

"She cooked a roast last night," Bex informs him.

"It's a miracle," Zach says mockingly. I glare at him and he quickly changes the subject back to the contents of the fridge. "So somebody that has cooked… any food?" He asks.

"It was pretty empty when I made the salad," Townsend answers.

"I may have eaten a lot well you were taking a nap Cam," Grant tells me apologetically. "Bex got called down to headquarters and nobody else was around so I helped myself."

I sigh then remember that the last time I went grocery shopping I threw a bunch of stuff into the extra fridge we keep in our basement laundry room. "There's food in the downstairs fridge," I tell Zach with a smile. "I think there is even some of your post mission ice cream."

"I'll save it for tomorrow," Zach decides. "I probably shouldn't eat ice cream at 11:30 at night anyways."

"Bex caught me doing that once," Grant says with a lopsided grin. "I didn't eat ice cream again for a month."

"Only because I didn't buy it," Bex mutters, "you're just too lazy to buy it yourself."

Grant grins. "I left for a mission in Portugal the next day and got stuck on a remote farm for reasons I can't share. There wasn't anywhere to buy ice cream. I don't think that qualifies as lazy."

"Totally does," she says.

Zach looks at them then at me. "Want to help me unpack?" He nods to a grey duffel bag on the floor.

I yawn, registering the time for the first time tonight. "As long as I can go to sleep afterwards," I answer.

"It's a deal," he grins.

I look at everybody else in the room. "Turn the lights off before you go to bed, okay?" I request.

"Okay," they all chorus at the same time, then go back to the living room, presumably to finish the Monopoly game.

* * *

The second we get to our bedroom, Zach throws his bag on the bed and pulls me into his arms.

"Are you all right?" I ask him as he buries his face in my hair.

"Fine, I just really missed you."

"Zach, you go on longer missions than this one all the time." I laugh.

"Yeah, but this was different. Macey and Ava Grey have already been compromised on this mission and you're so close to giving birth I was afraid I was going to miss it."

"Like I wouldn't wait for my husband to come home," I say jokingly. "I was really worried about you," I add in a more serious tone.

"I know, the Director told me during my debrief. I saw the wall." He adds as an afterthought and I can feel his grin like a stamp against my neck.

I grin sheepishly. "I was pissed and couldn't exactly punch the Director."

Zach laughs. "I love you," he kisses me deeply and I let myself get lost in it, the taste of his mouth, the feel of his skin. Too soon he pulls away. "We should get started on the bag," he suggests.

I groan. "I think our previous activity was much more fun." I say but I join him at the bed anyways and start empty out the bag.

I fold the socks that Zach seems to be unable to fold on his own and watch as he takes folded piles of clothing to our closet and puts them on hangers and shelves. I take his favourite gun out of a concealed pocket in the bag and dismantle it piece by piece than absently put it back together, letting my fingers work without thinking about it. The familiar movement is soothing to me and I don't really realize I'm doing it until Zach comes over and plucks the gun out of my hand to put in the weapons safe. He raises an eyebrow at me and I just shrug then lay back on our bed and place my hands protectively on my stomach. It is at this moment that the baby starts to kick and squirm and Zach laughs as he watches my stomach bounce up and down.

"I love you," Zach tells me as he walks towards the bed and places his head on my stomach.

Five hours later, my eyes shoot open and I shake Zach awake.

"It's time," I tell him.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N Short authors note today. I know I said this chapter probably wouldn't be up for a while but I started writing and just wrote the whole thing. So without further ado, enjoy. Also don't forget to review. **

Zach bolts out of bed and runs into the nursery to grab the pre-packed baby bag that I've had ready for the past three weeks while I roll out of bed and grab some cropped work out pants and an oversized t-shirt. After I've pulled those on I grab my overnight bag (which is always packed in case I get a last minute mission) and throw that over my shoulder. I remember that Zach didn't stop to get dressed before he bolted so I grab a pair of shorts and a t-shirt for him and am about to walk down to the nursery to give them to him when he bursts back into our room with the baby bag slung over his shoulder. I throw his clothes at him and then find myself leaning over as a contraction comes so forcefully I actually feel the pain it brings with it. I am trained not to feel pain but after the numerous torture sessions my dear departed mother in-law put me through, I barley register most pain as a built up defense my body has learned.

"Are you all right?" Zach asks with concern, coming up behind me.

"Fine, the contractions are pretty far apart, the pain just caught me off guard." I straighten my spine and look at him. He has put his clothes on and has the baby bag in his hand and a car seat in his other hand. "Let's go." I say with a smile.

"Let's go," he agrees.

When we get to the stairs, I realize that there is no way I am getting down them without help and so Zach, without a word, picks me up bridal style and carries me to the bottom where he sets me down and opens the front door. With one hand on the small of my back, he ushers me through them and to the car where he deposits the car seat into the back seat along with my overnight bag and the baby's bag which has baby clothes, a baby blanket and an assortment of diapers in it. Zach opens my door for me and helps me in, then goes around to the driver's side and slides into his seat.

"It's a good thing I got home when I did," Zach murmurs.

"No kidding," I say, "I would have been very pissed if you missed the birth of your child."

"So would I," Zach says.

I'm amazed at how calm the two of us are right now, I figured that this would be a terrifying experience but now that it is happening, I'm not scared at all. Like all new or soon to be parents, I've lain awake at night obsessing over all the things that could go wrong with my labour, all of the things that could happen to my baby, all the ways my son could die, what would happen if Zach or I died. The thing is, unlike other parents, there is always a good chance that one of us or both of us could die. Every time we start a mission there is always a chance we won't come back and with every mission we complete safely, we gain more enemies that would kill either one of us or our family without hesitation. Maybe it's that I live with this knowledge every day and have worried for nine months, but right now I am calm. It is the kind of calm I feel while I'm on a mission, the kind of calm that comes when you except that you don't know what is going to come next but know that whatever does come, you'll be ready for it. I glance at Zach's face and see that he is wearing what I like to call his mission face. It is focused and terrifying. It's observant and deadly and smart. I look at my face in a mirror and see that my face is just like his. We both have our mission faces on, we are both treating this new experience as one more unpredictable, dangerous thing that will end in either joy or despair. I sigh, being a spy never ends.

"Almost there," Zach tells me. "How're you doing?'

"Fine," I reply. "A bit of pain but I haven't had another contraction yet so that's good. Does Shelly now I'm in labour?" I ask, referring to my obstetrician.

"She's going to meet us at the hospital," Zach answers, "I called her when I went to grab the baby's bag and car seat."

I nod acknowledging that I'd heard him and grit my teeth as another contraction hits. Zach notices.

"You okay?" He asks.

"Yup, just another contraction. Don't worry," I add when I see his face, "I'm fine."

"Alright, but tell me if that changes Gallagher Girl."

"It won't," I mutter. "I've been through worse."

At this, Zach laughs, "I know you have baby, but child birth is a level all on its own."

I smack him.

"Ouch, Cam, I'm driving." Zach says.

"And I'm fine so stop worrying about me." I don't know why but it's really bothering me.

"Fine," he says pulling into the hospital parking lot. "We're here anyways."

* * *

Zach and I walk through the doors of the ER and tell the nurse at the desk who we are and that our obstetrician, Shelly Schmidt should be waiting for us in the maternity ward. The nurse at the desk dispatches another nurse who looks about 30 to take us up to meet her.

"I'm Kelly," Kelly tells us in the elevator.

"Cammie," I say sticking out my hand.

"Zach," Zach says also offering his right hand but keeping the left one tightly around my waist."

"How old are you guys?" Kelly asks us.

"27," I say at the same time Zach says 28. We grin at each other.

"Is this your first?" She asks us.

"Yeah," Zach says with a grin.

"Well you two sure are very calm about it," Kelly informs us. "Good luck," she says when the elevator doors open.

"Thanks," I tell her as we step out onto the Maternity floor.

The elevator doors close and Zach looks at me. "Let's do this," he says and together, with our mission faces on, we march up to the front desk.

* * *

Four hours later, I hear the distinct sound of a newborn baby crying and a nurse puts my son in my arms.

"Do you have a name picked out for him?" She asks us.

Zach and I exchange a look. "Jason," Zach answers, the pride in his voice prominent. "Jason Mathew Goode."  
"Hey buddy," I say. "Welcome to the world." I grin at Zach. "Do you want to meet your Daddy?" I ask the tiny little baby in my arms.

Zach takes him from me and smiles down at our sons little face. "Hey, your Mommy and I have been waiting a long time for you," he whispers sitting down in the chair beside my bed.

I reach out to touch my sons head. "We're so glad you're here," I tell him as the door to my hospital room opens.

"Hey Mommy," Bex's voice says.

I turn my head. "You came," I say.

"You didn't think I wouldn't come and see my best friend's baby, did you?"

"Of course not," I smile at her.

"Move," I hear Grant's voice say from behind her. "The rest of us need to be able to get into the room."

Bex moves and Grant, Abby, Townsend, Joe, the Director and my Mom pile into the room. Zach passes Jason back to me and stands up to greet them, hugging Bex and Grant and Abby and Joe, shaking Townsend and the Director's hands. Then he comes and sits back down next to me.

"This is Jason," I say to my friends and family.

My mom is the first to move. "Can I hold him?" She asks me. I nod and carefully hand Jason to her. "I'm your Grandma," she tells him with a smile.

Bex comes forward next and takes him from my mom. "Hey little guy," she says.

Grant comes up next to her and she passes Jason to him. They stand shoulder to shoulder and stare at his little face and I know that it won't be long before they'll have a child of their own.

"He's beautiful," Grant says, looking at Zach and I. "How can anything with half of Zach's DNA be beautiful?" He jokes.

Abby holds him next, then Townsend, then Joe, then the Director. Everybody croons at Jason and smiles and laughs.

After about fifteen minutes, the Directors phone rings. "I have to go," he says apologetically after talking to whoever is on the other end. "Congratulations," he adds. "He really is beautiful."

After the Director leaves, Zach and I look at each other and a message passes between us. Jason is back in my arms and is fast asleep snuggled against my chest. "Bex, Grant." Zach says. "We'd like you two to be Jason's Godparents."

They freeze. "Us?" Bex stutters.

"Yes you," I say, trying not to laugh. It's not often you I get to surprise Bex and I don't think I've ever seen her like this.

Both Bex and Grant seem to unfreeze just as suddenly as they'd frozen. "We'd be honored," they say together.

After another half hour of happy conversation and baby passing, a nurse appears at the door and kicks everyone out with the exception of Zach, Jason and me saying we need to rest. I don't think she's right until I close my eyes and everything goes black.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N will be at the end. **

Jason and I are both kept in the hospital for observation until the next morning and Zach stays with us. When we are finally given the all clear to go home, Zach brings up Jason's little car seat and buckles him into it with a proud smile, then helps me out the door. The nurses wanted me in a wheelchair but I refused and although walking hurts a tiny bit, it is nothing compared to how happy I am walking out of that hospital hand in hand with Zach, our baby in his other hand. I sit in the back with Jason on the way home and Zach and I make happy conversation until we pull into our driveway a half hour later. I get out of the car after taking Jason out of his car seat and cradle him in my arms as Zach and I walk into our house.

"Hey," Zach shouts. There is no reply. "Weird," he mutters to me.

I walk into the kitchen to see if everyone is in there or maybe just Grant, stuffing his face with our food but I find no people, only a note.

_Hey, _

_The hospital called to tell us you were coming home. We decided to go out for lunch and leave you three to get settled on your own. Tell my god son hi for me and if you're hungry, I made Grant go grocery shopping so there is food in the fridge to replace what he ate. Abby says hi too and also says to tell you she left a gift in Jason's room. _

_Bex_

"They went for lunch," I say to Zach, shoving the note in my back pocket.

"In that case," Zach says with a grin. "Do you want to show Jason around his new home?"

I lean over and kiss him, squishing a sleeping Jason between us. "Sure," I say. "Let's give him the tour."

* * *

After the tour, Zach and Jason lay on our bed, Zach is fingering the blanket Aunt Abby bought for Jason and Jason is sleeping on Zach's stomach. I stare at myself in the mirror.

"You know how in movies, women have babies and then look bikini ready by the next take, or how on magazines, famous people have babies than look skinnier then they did before a week later?" I ask Zach. "That's bullshit. I look like I'm still pregnant."

Zach gets up off the bed with Jason in his arms and joins me at the mirror. "Gallagher Girl," he says affectionately. "You were pregnant for nine months, does it not make sense that your body will take that long to get back to normal?"

"Yes, but I don't want it to."

"How about this, you look a lot less pregnant then you did when we I got home and either way, I think you look beautiful."

I grin and kiss him. "Thanks baby, but you're only saying…" I freeze.

"What?" Zach whispers.

I press my finger to my lips and go over to our closet, quickly punching the code into our weapons safe. I take out four guns, one of which I stuff under the waist band of my shirt, one of which I keep in my hand. I hand the other two to Zach and watch as he shifts Jason to put on gun under his waist band and hold one steady, I open the door to our bedroom quietly and slip into the hall and to the top of the stairs so that I can hear better. Zach follows with Jason. I hear a bang as something wooden is flipped on its side and then voices.

"Shut up," says a voice I don't recognize. I glance at Zach and see that his eyes are wide. Apparently he recognizes the voice.

I hear another bang and this time the voice is louder. "Shut up. They can't know we're here."

Zach nudges me and turns to walk down the hall. I follow without hesitation.

"Who are they?" I ask quietly once I close the door to the nursery.

"Dangerous," he answers quickly. "From what I know, they used to work in some big shot terrorist group that fell apart. Cammie, they're with the group I was just in as part of my mission. High ranking, ruthless, if they find us, they'll kill us."

"What's new?" I whisper with more bravado then I feel. "They aren't going to find us," I add dropping the act. "We made sure of that when we bought the house." I cross over to a built in shelf on the wall and slide my fingers under the bottom until I hear a click and a hand scanner is revealed in the wall beside it. I press my hand to the shiny screen and watch as it turns green and the shelf slides back into the wall and the up into the ceiling of the tunnel beyond it. I step in and watch Zach step in after me, still cradling Jason. I press a button and the shelf silently slides back into place.

* * *

The tunnel is soundproof so Zach and I no longer need to whisper. "What do they want?" I ask my husband. "Better question, how do they know who we are?"

"I don't know," he answers miserably. "I have no idea." After that, we don't talk much, only run.

We are running through the tunnel, trying to get to the car hidden in the woods that this comes out at. We still have about six kilometres to go and Zach is trying not to jostle Jason too much but he is crying anyways. Probably hungry but we don't have time for me to stop and feed him. I glare at the walls as I run past them, the only things we have with us are four guns and a baby blanket that is wrapped around Jason. Not enough to go on the run which we are going to have to do. It's unfair. I just had my son and I didn't even get to spend a full day at home with him before some wacko assassins barged into my house looking for me. Probably to kill me. Why do people always want to kill me? I sigh.

* * *

Zach drives while I nurse Jason. He heads for the airport because, even though that is an obvious place to run, crowds are good and we need to get out of the country. Now. If it was just Zach and me at risk here, we' probably try to say in the States for as long a possible, probably would have run to the Director but it isn't just Zach and me anymore, it's Jason too. So we are running. Always running.

**A/N So what did you think? Where should they run? Sorry about how short it was but I figured if I made it longer I'd never get it up and that you guys would probably like to get on with the story. Well, I hope you liked it. Review!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N Hey, so new chapter today. Sorry it took so long. Also, sorry we haven't gotten any overly exciting stuff happen with the plot yet, I promise there will be some very soon, it just takes/took a lot of set-up. Shout outs at the end. Don't forget to review but more importantly, enjoy.**

"We should have gone to Gallagher," Zach mutters to me as we try to lose the tails we have on us.

I pull Jason tighter to my chest. "We couldn't have Zach, Gallagher is a safe place right now and if we show up at the door, it won't be safe anymore. It will be on the brink of disaster. I'm not bringing that to the school."

"It would have bought time."

"It would have made Gallagher a target."

"Gallagher has the resources and skills to take care of themselves and keep us safe."

"Zach," I snap, silencing him with a single word.

"Alright, you win." He holds his hands up in mock surrender.

I stop at a Starbucks and buy a Frappuccino, letting the lady taking my order gush about how beautiful my son is and then join Zach where he sat down on a bench to wait for me. Being normal, blending in and hiding in plain sight, trying to lose our tails, being spies without being obvious. I am the Chameleon again and I love it. I pass a sleeping Jason to Zach and sip my Frappuccino, then glance at my watch. Our flight leaves in an hour. I lean over to Zach.

"Baby, we need to go. We've got an hour before our flight leaves." I tell him.

Zach nods, hearing the message within the message. Our flight leaves in an hour. We need to lose our tails. "Let's go then," he says.

We take as much time as we can. Stopping to point at a sign advertising a free trip to Paris, looking in a bookstore and buying ice cream from the Ben and Jerry's we pass. The issue is, we really can't miss our flight and in the end we run through the airport to get to our gate with ten minutes until scheduled take-off. The good part is that we don't have any tails on us anymore, the bad part is that Zach's running woke Jason up and now the man behind us is telling us to shut our baby up or he'll shut him up for us. After about a half hour of his threats, I snap.

"How about this?" I say jumping up from my seat with Jason in my arms and turning to face him. "You shut up or I'll shut you up. My son is three days old. Three days! Do you think I want to be on a plane with him right now? Do you think this was something I had hoped would happen? That I planned this? Shut up. You have no idea…" I'm cut off by Zach who pulls me down into my seat and away from the man I had been yelling at.

"Gallagher Girl, calm down." He mutters to me. "We're going for subtle and under the radar here. Then louder and to the man behind us, "sorry, we've had a bit of a stressful week."

"Your wife's crazy dude," the man mutters. "Is she off her meds or something?"

That comment has me jumping up again but Zach pushes me back down with a sharp, "Cammie!"

"Sorry," I mutter, not feeling very sorry at all.

I hate this. Running again. I missed being out in the field and although this is, in many ways fun, it is also terrifying. I have a son now and a husband, a family. I can't be on the run, I can't risk all that. What if something where to happen, what if somebody was captured, what if one of us died? The first time I ran it was to keep everybody else safe because I was the target and I couldn't see someone die for me, I'm not worth that. So I ran and it was only me at risk, I was the only one to get hurt. Well, no that's not true, other people got hurt, stray bullets and people who thought they'd help. People died for me or because of me but they weren't trying to protect me. They weren't throwing themselves in front of bullets and guns and people that would have otherwise killed me. Now Zach will do just that if he has to, but that has always been the case. The difference is that we can't be selfish anymore. Every move we make has to be about keeping Jason safe, nothing else. One little problem though. From what I heard at the house they aren't after Jason. They'll kill him and Zach too but they aren't after either of them, they are after me.

Regardless, Zach isn't going to leave me and I'm not going to leave him.

"Cammie? What's wrong with you?" Zach whispers angrily. "You're going to blow our cover."

I have a lot of excuses for whatever the hell is actually wrong with me but I chose the simplest, least personal reason. "This is the airport I ran from that summer," I say. "Bad memories here."

"Gallagher girl," Zach says, softly this time. "I know you, that is not all that's bothering you."

"Alright," I say. "They want me. They want me Zach, not you, not Jason. What if one of you gets hurt and it's my fault?"

"Cammie, I'm here because you're here. I will always be where you are and it will always be because I want to be. You need to expect me to be with you from now on. We are a team. We will always be a team."

"But what if you get hurt? What if it's my fault?"

"Then I'll get hurt."

"What if it's Jason?"

"It won't be baby. We'll keep Jason safe."

"But what if he does get hurt?"

"Cammie, if our baby boy gets hurt, we'll deal with it. We always deal with it."

"Okay," I say over Jason who is still crying. Then I set to rocking him back and forth, trying to get him to stop crying.

"Give him here." Zach says. I pass Jason to him. "Hey little guy," he says. "What do you need? Huh? What's wrong?"

"How do we stop him from crying?" I ask Zach. In all of the chaos of today we haven't really had a chance to go through that whole, new parent just out of the hospital thing. Instead we've gotten the new parent going on the run thing. Our thing sucks.

"I don't know. Maybe he's tired."

"He'd just go to sleep if he was tired."

"Hungry? When was the last time you fed him?"

"In the car on the way to the airport," I answer.

"Cam, that was like four hours ago."

"So he's hungry. Is it even legal to breast feed in public?" I ask my husband.

"I think so, what's anyone going to say? Your baby is quiet now but he needs to cry again because you can't nurse in public? That wouldn't help anybody on this plane."

"I guess." I grab a complimentary blanket from the seat back in front of me and cover myself with it so that Jason can nurse. Zach and I must be doing something right because he stops crying and after he is full, he falls fast asleep.

"It's weird," mutters Zach.

"What is?" I ask.

"This. Being a family, having a son, running again. That especially, the running. I never thought we'd do it again, I thought we were done."

I give him a sad smile. "We're never done."

* * *

After about ten hours on our plane, most of which Jason either slept or cried or ate, we finally arrive in Spain. Barcelona to be exact. Neither Zach nor I have spotted anybody who might be a tail on the plane with us but that doesn't mean whoevers chasing us doesn't have people in the airport. We covered our tracks pretty well when we bought the tickets for the plane, using fake names of course, but we also bought multiple tickets for multiple flights to multiple places. The fake names should have bought us a few hours and the multiple flights a few more but we were on the plane for ten hours and so they've probably either sent people to every airport the flights we booked would have gotten into, or figured out which airport we've actually gone to. I hope they didn't figure out which airport we were actually going to because then whoever they have waiting will probably have his (or her) guard down. Anyway, this is what I'm thinking as I get changed in the bathroom and put my new passport and ID in my purse. I am now Bella Torres, married to Anton Torres with a newborn daughter named Zurina Torres who does not yet have a passport so I carry his birth certificate instead. I am a red haired woman whose hair is pulled into a loose bun. I have a new nose and am in a loose green dress that brings out the golden flecks in my now green eyes. I meet Zach and Jason, sorry, Anton and Zurina in the hall and smile when I see my husband in large glasses and shorts and a t-shirt. Zach has a new nose, a limp and freckles. Jason looks pretty much the same but he is now in a pink one piece thing that Zach through into the escape car a couple of weeks ago. Also he is supposed to be a girl. We figured whoever would be looking for us would be looking for a young American couple with a newborn son so we have become a young Spanish couple with a newborn daughter. I sigh. I hate running.

**A/N**

**TerryCherry-Thanks for the idea about Spain, I hope you like what I come up with while they're in that country.**

**collabkk and cheeky-monkey-hehehe -I hope I adequately explained why they didn't go somewhere they know.**

**nadiyahill and dude- Thanks for your encouraging reviews.**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N Sorry for the wait guys, I'll try to get them up faster. School just kinda came out of nowhere. Anyways enjoy and review to tell me what you think.**

We race through the streets of some city in Spain on foot. Jason is securely against my chest in a baby sling I bought two weeks ago after Zach almost dropped him when he hopped over a log in a forest we had been running through. Along with my purchase of the baby sling, I also bought tiny little baby earmuffs in an attempt to protect Jason's hearing from the loud bangs that accompany gun fire, which there is a lot of lately. Unlike when I ran from the Circle, there isn't even the slightest bit of caution and secrecy in the way whoever has been chasing us acts. They are trigger happy with no regard for civilian life or protocol so we've been trying to stay away from civilization. Today, that isn't possible. We've been trying to lose these men for the past three days and have barley been able to stay ahead of them so finally, in desperation, we've come to the city to seek out crowds. I spy an advertisement for a market happening a few blocks from where we are so I change direction towards it, trusting Zach to follow. Nobody has shot at us for about ten minutes which is a very good sign but they are still behind us. We are almost at the market when the shooting starts again. I twist at the same time Zach does and together, we return fire. We've reached the market now and people are scattering, trying to get away. A little boy, he can't be more than six, runs out onto the road in panic, the road is closed because of the market but he is very close to me and the men after us aren't exactly crack shots and I hear a bang and the boy falls to the ground and his mother screams and I scream and his mother runs to his side and I run up beside her and try to stop this little boy's bleeding but I'm not here anymore, I'm on a different street in a different year in a different country beside a different boy on a different street holding a mother back as she flails trying to get to her son but I can't let her go because her son is dead. Now I hold back this mother when I see it is hopeless. I pull her into a nearby building, her screaming at me, screaming terrible things and I'm afraid that her flying fists are going to hit Jason So I take him off and give him to Zach who has carried the boy's body into this building with him. I need to move, I need to leave before they get here but I can't let this woman go or she will run back outside and die so instead I sit rocking back and forth and listening to her scream and cry in my arms. Zach taps my arm and I know I can't wait another second so I get up and the woman sit where she is. Zach keeps Jason close to his chest and we run out the back entrance of the building we are in and run down the street. I think we lost them but it cost a little boy his life and that isn't right. I think we lost them but I'm wrong. We turn a corner and there is a group of children lined up against a wall and three men with guns pointed at them. These are the men who've been chasing us.

I step in front of Zach who has Jason against cradled in his arms. "Let them go," I say my voice even and deadly as I remember the dead little boy a few blocks back. I level my gun at the men; I will not let more innocent children die because of me. "Let them go or you die."

One of the men lets off a harsh laugh. "We'll die? Cammie, you can only kill the men you can see. We have people in alleyways and snipers on the roofs with their scopes trained on your head, the heads of your husband and son too. If you kill us, you die as well."

"There are worse things than death," I answer thinking about the torture I'd endured all those years ago in that little house on the mountain. "There really are, fortunately for you, you're never going to find out what they are." I shoot both him and his companions through the head and watch as they fall to the ground. I walk forward and kick the man in the head. "You three where the only ones chasing us you bastard," I tell his corpse. "You didn't have people on the rooftops or in any alleys near here. Not yet anyways. Thanks for playing." I turn to the children still standing against the wall, their eyes huge. "Go home." I say. "Run home and lock your doors." They run.

* * *

"I'll take first watch," I inform Zach. I can't seem to get that dying little boy and his mother's screams out of my head.

"I can do it baby," Zach tells me but when he sees the look on my face he nods and goes to lie down in the alleyway we've chosen tonight, curling his body around Jason to protect him from the wind.

"I love you," I tell him. I move to kiss him then Jason who is already sound asleep.

"I love you too," he responds, returning my kiss.

"Go to sleep," I murmur against his lips. "I'll wake you up in a few hours."

I go and sit down with my back against the brick wall. I listen as Zach's breathing evens out and smile as Jason moves closer to him, burrowing against Zach's warmth. I yawn as I smile, I haven't been sleeping very well since we went on the run, between old memories that I don't really want to remember and Jason having to be fed every couple hours, I am extremely tired and very irritable. What I wouldn't give for a few hours of uninterrupted sleep. I know that isn't going to happen though. Jason isn't even three weeks yet and he already sleeps better than he should (especially with the aforementioned running)so I guess I should be thankful for that but what little sleep I do get is interrupted by nightmares and curly blonde hair turned red with blood. I sigh. I am so tired. I can't sleep though, that isn't an option. It can't be an option. Whoever's after us, they'll have more people near us now. Watching us probably but I have one hand on a gun and four more on my person so whoever is out there won't try anything. I yawn again and pinch myself when I feel my eyelids drifting close. I can't sleep. Even as this thought flies through my mind, I feel my eyes drift close. I don't have the energy to stop them.

"Cammie," it's Zach's voice and his hand shaking my shoulder. My head bangs off the wall behind me and my eyes snap open, instantly alert. I look around and notice that Jason isn't near me, isn't anywhere I can see.

"Where is he?" I ask taking in Zach's panicked look. "No." I say. "No."

"They left a note in his place," Zach says holding it up. "It says that we took what they held most dear so now they'll take what we hold most dear."

"I fell asleep, didn't I?" I ask but it isn't really a question and Zach just nods. I want to cry and scream and run and shout. I want to kill somebody. I can't though so instead I put on my mission face and see that Zach has done the same, hysterics and sadness will come later. Right now we have a job to do.

"What do you want to do?" Zach asks me.

"Go home," I say. "We need to go home and we need to get our son."


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N Hey everyone. Although I hate to do this and sincerely apologize especially since I'm leaving you off in such a bad place, this story is going to go on hiatus. I am very sorry and I don't really have a good reason other than life is busy and I don't want to keep you guys waiting for another chapter. So sorry. I do promise though that I will finish this story because it would be mean not to and I have some great ideas regarding where it will go next. With that in mind, until next time, You-Just-Might. **


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